Another 300 police officers disappeared from the streets of the West Midlands last year, according to new Home Office figures.

The latest police workforce statistics showed total numbers fell by a further four per cent in the 12 months to last September.

Across the country another 3,488 police officer jobs were lost.

Officer numbers are now 15,995 below their historic peak of 144,353 in September 2009.

And in the West Midlands there were 7,155 officers working for the force last September.

News of the latest cut in numbers sparked fresh calls for a fairer funding deal from the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson.

David Jamieson

He said: “These figures show the clear need for a fairer funding deal for the West Midlands.

“Record cuts mean we have 300 fewer officers than last year.

“West Midlands officers are a credit to the region, and the people of the West Midlands are being let down by a funding formula that punishes us harder here, than almost anywhere else in the country.”

Speaking last week at a meeting of the Police and Crime Panel, Mr Jamieson said the force had been unfairly hit with a further demand for £23 million-worth of cuts made by central government.

He said West Midlands Police was already struggling to cope with the £126 million-worth of cuts imposed since 2010.

During the meeting he announced a proposed 1.99 per cent increase in the force’s share of council tax income.

He described the latest cuts announcement as “the biggest and most unfair financial challenge of any police force in the country”.

But a recruitment programme, announced by his late predecessor Bob Jones was already under way and would continue, he said

Mr Jamieson said the drive to sign up 450 officers could just about be afforded, but the last phase would now slip into 2016/17.

Mike Cunningham, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead on the police workforce, said: “With reduced recruitment and the considerable cuts made to policing budgets, it is not surprising that the number of officers and staff have reduced across England and Wales, and this clearly presents a challenge for the police service.

“However, the effectiveness of policing cannot be measured by the number of officers and staff alone, and the service has risen to the challenge of dealing with significant financial restraints and continued to maintain the protection of the public.”